A couple compelling stories within the Oil Region Ballet's performance of "Alice in Wonderland" caught our attention when we photographed one of their rehearsals before opening this weekend at the Academy Theatre in Meadville. ​They will bring the show to the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin this Friday and Saturday.  Click here for the story. 

Local high school singers added their voices to over 150 others to create a regional choir concert experience in Meadville. Students from all over northwest Pennsylvania were competing for a chance to go to states in the Pennsylvania Music Educators' Association program. Read about which local kids made the cut by clicking here.  

Brayden McFetridge and Dalton Wenner earned spots on top of the podium Saturday at PennWest Clarion’s Tippin Gymnasium. Teammates Elijah Brosius and Conner Reszkowski placed second. Dane Wenner finished third and Devyn Fleeger was fourth. Read about the D9 championship by clicking here. 

Brock Covell had Titusville's highest D10 championship finish, securing a third place. He and teammates Nate Stearns, Sawyer Wolfkiel and Gavin Donaldson will move on to next weekend's regionals. The Franklin Knights struggled in the tournament and did not have any regional qualifiers this year. Read more about the Rocket wrestlers by clicking here. 

It was an uncharacteristically poor shooting afternoon for the Franklin girls basketball team Saturday. But the big problem was an Eagle with the number 15 jersey who gave them fits and was the difference in the score.

Never walk alone even if your only companion is a head butting goat. The Nature of Things column explore philosophy thanks to a new homemade sweatshirt. Click on photo for column.

More news from Titusville can be found on out Eight & 27 page and we also partner with weekly newspaper The Titusville News-Journal which can be picked up at the office at 150 Central Avenue #1 in Titusville or at Save-A-Lot in Titusville.

Cranberry wrestling coach Dustin Wenner was named the District 9 Coach of the Year. The honor is determined through voting by coaches in the district. 

Two Titusville basketball payers were recognized by the Erie Times-News for their seasons and were named Breakout Players of the Year. Franklin's Jalen Wood was also on the list. Click here for more.

Allegheny College advanced to the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship with a dominating win over Theil 106-66 Thursday night at home. They then dropped a nail biter against Chatham 76-73 on Saturday. They are waiting with fingers crossed to see if they get and NCAA Division III bid.

You may have noticed some political ads appearing in the last week on Eight & 322. We have offered political candidates a place to reach their constituents at an affordable rate. So far the three candidates cross filing for Venango County's two judge positions have taken this opportunity. Our website is currently averaging over 3,000 views a week and it seems to be trending upwards in the last few weeks. Businesses or candidate interested in advertising with us, can email [email protected] to find out more about our rates. 

Denise Jones was named the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. Honors were also given to the Oil Region Library Association, Klapec Trucking Company and Patti Shontz. Read about the ceremony by clicking here.

The Franklin Civic Operetta Association's Youth Theatre returned with "The Rainbow Fish Musical" this week. The show took audiences through the story of a colorful fish that needs to learn about kindness and friendship. See photos here. 

High school wrestling moves into the District championships. Click on the sentence to read the coverage under the Sports tab.

​Titusville's Nate Stearns wins a Section 1 title.
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D10 2A brackets feature several Venango and Crawford wrestlers.

D9 2A contests get underway Friday and Cranberry has two top seeds. 

Beith

Speth

Abramovic

Breene

Bryan

Moon

Betty Morrison now carries the designation of Rocky Grove High School basketball's "most loyal fan." On Friday night during halftime of the boys game versus Farrell, Morrison was suprised with a plaque of appreciation for "50 plus years" of attending games at The Nest.

Here are some other stories that were posted in the past 14 days. (Click on the sentences to read the full stories.)

• ORA is accepting Historic Preservation Award nominees.
• Titusville Historical Society is holding a program on recipes from the 19th century. 
• Winners were determined in several Franklin weekend competitions. ​
• Cold weather fun at Franklin on Ice and the Two Mile Run County Park Polar Plunge. 
• Franklin rolls out Honorable Knights program at junior and senior high school.